


And Then There Were Five

by LuckyLadybug



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: During Canon, Friendship, Gen, Horror, Male Friendship, Not Really Character Death, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:13:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23925958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyLadybug/pseuds/LuckyLadybug
Summary: Mostly takes place during Noa's arc. Fed up with the Big Five's failures, Noa proceeds to "delete" them. They find themselves in what looks like the Kaiba Mansion, but one that is horrible and dark and begins to claim their lives, one by one.





	And Then There Were Five

**Author's Note:**

> The characters are not mine and the story is! I got this idea from watching the classic movie Charade, weirdly enough. Most of it takes place during canon, but the last bit is during my post-series Pendulum Swings arc.

Nesbitt had always loved machines of any kind. As a child, he had preferred playing alone and enjoying mechanical toys, and even making them as he grew older. He had found the idea of virtual reality fascinating and intriguing.

But . . . that was before he and the others had all become trapped within it.

They had been supposed to just stay in the game they had helped make, but something had gone wrong when they had lost. Instead they had been thrust somewhere into the wilds of cyberspace, filled with motherboards and USB slots and cords and who knew what else. It had been terrifying, not fascinating. And the more they had wandered, unable to find any way to get back to their bodies, the more their sanity and senses of self had crumbled. The only thought they had been able to keep hold of was a burning desire for revenge against Seto Kaiba. And the longer they had been there, the more it had seemed reasonable to go after Yugi Muto and the others as well.

Finding Noa had been a surprise, even though they had known Gozaburo had placed the boy's brain and spirit in cyberspace. Nesbitt had been in charge of the attempt to preserve his existence, along with Scott Irvine, his protégé. Noa, instead of just being happy to have company at last, had seemed sadistically pleased that he could finally wield power over the men he had needed to respect in life. It was obvious he had become warped from his long years alone in cyberspace, and he had especially blamed Nesbitt for putting him there.

It was Noa who had told them that they could switch places with the kids and escape that way. Still afraid, and driven to utter desperation, it had sounded sensible to them. Or most of them—Lector had still been reluctant, and though he had finally agreed in order to bring justice upon Seto, he had pleaded with the others to leave Mokuba alone. He felt that Seto wasn't a fit brother after the upsetting things he had witnessed when they had commenced taking over KaibaCorp, and he wanted to see that Mokuba had a happier life. He didn't want to trap the kid in cyberspace. The others, knowing of Lector's love for the child, had agreed.

But nothing had gone right for them. The kids had defeated them at every turn, and now Noa was fed-up with their failures. As they knelt, trembling in front of him, he just sneered at the five frightened men and announced that he was deleting them from existence. None of them even had any chance to process what that really meant before one by one, they vanished.

Nesbitt didn't know what he expected to find when Noa suddenly "deleted" him from the cold and bare room where he had confronted all of the Big Five. Would he cease to exist? He hadn't even really believed in spirits until they had all become trapped in cyberspace. If spirits existed, then it seemed to him that God must exist, and surely Noa didn't have as much or more power than God, to be able to erase souls.

Would he ever see the others again? He had disappeared alone. What if Noa was going to make them all suffer by being alone as he had been alone? He had made remarks on several occasions that indicated he was bitter that they were all together. It wasn't as though they had planned it, but they had been together all the same.

He shut his eyes tightly. Maybe it was illogical, but . . . he didn't want to be alone. And . . . for some reason, he couldn't bear the thought that he might never see the others again. . . .

Why? Why would that matter, when he had been going to abandon them all anyway?

. . . Before he had thought he had a chance to escape, he had talked about all of them getting out . . . even working together. . . . Any time he had thought about escape during those eternal weeks, it had always been with all of the others. He had never thought of or dreamed of abandoning them. . . . Not until the chance had seemed to be right in front of him.

_I was weak! I was an idiotic, foolish, weak human, giving in to my most base and selfish desire. I just wanted out and I didn't care who I hurt. Even them. . . ._

He started to clench a fist.

His feet touched solid ground. He opened his eyes again, stunned. He was standing in the entryway of a familiar home. The Kaiba mansion?! Before he could fully process the surprise, Lector appeared, and then one by one, everyone else. For a reason Nesbitt couldn't fully explain, his heart was filling with joy to actually see them all again. They couldn't be glad to see him, not after what he had done, but . . . just to know they were safe, and still existing . . . it made him so happy.

They all stood, staring, bewildered over what had just happened.

"We're not dead?!" Crump exclaimed.

"Well, we're not something," Gansley grunted.

"We still exist," Johnson said in amazement.

"Nesbitt!" Lector looked to him and he shrank back, expecting well-deserved censure. But then he fully processed Lector's expression. The older man was glad to see him, somehow . . . incredibly.

". . . I thought you were gone," Nesbitt rasped. "I thought we were all gone. . . ."

"So did I," Lector said.

"So . . . w-where are we?!" Crump stammered.

Lector held his hand up to his nose. ". . . I can't believe it, but . . . I think we're back in the real world," he gasped. "I'm breathing. . . ."

It didn't take long for the others to make the same discoveries. It was unreal . . . unbelievable . . . and yet it was true.

"We're alive!" Crump exclaimed. "And our bodies weren't destroyed!"

Gansley gripped his cane. "Something isn't right here," he said. "This is too easy, too perfect. It's been several weeks. If our bodies were somehow preserved, they would be comatose and under medical care. We wouldn't be able to simply get up and use them without some rehabilitation first."

"Then how do you explain the phenomenon we're experiencing, Gansley?" Johnson asked, adjusting his glasses.

"I can't," Gansley said. "Not unless it's another trick of Noa's."

"But he wanted us gone!" Nesbitt protested. "He wouldn't spend time crafting some elaborate trick to continue torturing us!"

"No, it doesn't seem so," Gansley said. "And yet . . ." He shook his head. "Something simply isn't adding up."

"I've kinda gotta admit, he's got a point," Crump said.

Lector went to the doors and rattled them. "Well, we're stranded in here," he said. "The doors are locked."

"I have a question," Johnson said. "If we're here, and we're all in our own bodies, what happened to those kids?"

"I guess they're still in Noa's world," Nesbitt said.

Lector rested a hand on the doors. "Mokuba," he whispered.

Gansley looked to him in concern. "I know you care about that boy. You convinced us not to go after him at all."

"I can't leave him back there," Lector said. "And really, could any of us have really left any of them back there? We were all so desperate to get out of that world, but once we'd get out of there, could we live with trapping them in our places?"

Nesbitt looked away with a scowl. "I could if it was Kaiba."

Lector turned back to face the others. "We would have all had to live those kids' lives, too," he said. "Did any of us really think about that? We thought we could get back to our lives, but we couldn't have. We would have been living in teenage bodies and no one would have taken us seriously."

"Except for you, playin' Kaiba," Crump said. "And Gansley, as Yugi Muto. But the rest of us . . . yeah, we would have been nobodies."

"We would have helped you rise back to prominence, of course," Gansley said.

"Would you, I wonder?" Johnson mused. "Or would you have been too caught up in enjoying your new lives?"

"Of course we would have helped you!" Lector exclaimed. "I would have hired all of you!"

"It would've looked pretty weird for Seto Kaiba to hire Yugi Muto to work for him," Crump said.

"We would've figured out something," Lector said. "I never would have abandoned any of you! I would hope you would know me well enough to realize that."

". . . I do," Nesbitt spoke up. He had mostly stayed out of the discussion, preferring to not be social. But it was strange, that even in spite of his dislike of Lector, he knew without any shred of doubt that Lector was telling the truth. He would never throw the others under the bus . . . as Nesbitt had tried to do out of his own desperation when he had thought he was free.

"I'm sure we all do," Gansley said. "We all only have each other. We've seen how warped Noa has become, living all alone in his virtual world for six years. At least we haven't had to face it by ourselves."

Crump bowed his head. "Yeah. . . . You know, I'm glad we weren't alone. And I'm glad that since we weren't, the reason why is because we had each other. I'd rather be with you guys than anyone else."

". . . So would I," Johnson admitted.

The others all nodded and echoed agreement, even Nesbitt. And, he knew, he absolutely meant it. He didn't like people, but he liked being with these men. It was familiar, so perhaps that was the only reason why. And yet, he really didn't think so.

"Well . . . so what are we going to do now?" he asked. "If we're stuck here. . . ."

Lector tried the windows next. "All locked."

"Then let's be logical!" Nesbitt growled and picked up a chair, heaving it at the nearest one. Instead of shattering the glass, it bounced back off and hit the floor.

". . . I guess the house doesn't wanna be logical," Crump said as they all stared at it.

"Obviously something isn't right," Gansley grunted. "This house isn't following the laws of physics."

"So we probably really are still trapped in digital Hades?" Crump gulped. "How come we're breathin' and stuff? Is that another trick of Noa's?"

"I wouldn't underestimate him," Gansley said.

"He may have trapped us here so we'd be out of the way," Lector mused. "Or to punish us. . . ." He ran a hand over his face. "He's become so sadistic. You can all see how much he delights in tormenting us now that he has power over us. Especially me." He looked away. Gozaburo had tried to use Lector to teach Noa how to behave properly in life, but Noa had had none of it and had always resented Lector's attempts to teach him that the world didn't revolve around him. They had been arguing the night Noa had been hit by a car. Lector was certain Noa blamed him for it. He certainly blamed himself.

"Yeah, he's a twisted little cuss," Crump said. "We just wanted to get out, but he . . . he really wants to torture everybody!"

Gansley quirked an eyebrow. "You don't call what you tried to do to the Gardner girl torturing her? At least the rest of us just planned to let the kids roam free in this world, but you wanted to freeze her in place."

". . . Then she wouldn't havta experience slowly losing her mind," Crump defended. "If you look at it that way, it was a kindness!"

"I highly doubt she would see it that way," Gansley said.

"You were quite sadistic yourself, Gansley, with all the ways you taunted Yugi," Johnson said. "Sadism isn't only physical."

"As you most certainly know, after the cruel stunt you pulled on Joseph Wheeler," Lector said.

"And you, Mr. Honorable Amongst Us, who went back on his word and refused to give up Tristan's body," Johnson immediately rejoined.

"I couldn't take that I'd let all of you down!" Lector cried.

"A typical defense, and perhaps a truthful one, but perhaps not," Johnson said. "I wonder."

"Stop it!" Nesbitt yelled. It was bizarre for him to try to stop an argument instead of being part of it, but for some reason he hated hearing all of them falling to their assorted accusations against each other—no matter how truthful they were.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"You were absolutely sadistic yourself, Nesbitt," Lector said.

"Yeah, I know," Nesbitt retorted. "We all did things we shouldn't have! But we just got through saying we were glad to be together! Now we're fighting in the next minute? We need to stay logical and figure out how to get out of here. There has to be a way!"

Gansley gave a tired sigh, passing a hand over his eyes. "You're right, of course. Let's split up and search. We'll cover more ground that way."

No one disagreed. At the moment, perhaps they all wanted a little space.

Nesbitt stormed off down the hall, his eyes narrowed. All that talk of being glad to be together was just talk, wasn't it? Just like all other humans, they were illogical and didn't mean what they said.

He slowed to a stop, covering his eyes with a hand. For that matter, it could have been the angry words they didn't mean. He certainly said plenty of hurtful things that he didn't mean. He hated it. He had hoped the others were better than he was, but they were all just foolish humans.

How he wished he was a machine! Then he could just be logical and humans' foolishness wouldn't bother him . . . especially his own. He tried to block out most of his human emotions whenever they surfaced, but it really worked very seldom.

Wandering around was eerie. If they were indeed still trapped in Noa's world, his version of the Kaiba manor was abandoned and filled with cobwebs. No one appeared at all, not even a butler or a maid.

Well, at least he could be grateful not to have to run into Hobson. That disturbing little man set all of them on edge.

The door to the dining room was ajar. He slowly pushed it open, listening to its unnatural creak slowly filling the space. The windows were old and dirty, but still let in enough light that he could see someone sitting at the head of the long table, in Gozaburo's usual place.

". . . Hello?" He felt awkward and even ridiculous as he slowly walked inside. It wouldn't really be Gozaburo sitting there. It didn't seem to be his body shape at all. In fact, it looked like . . .

"Gansley?!" Nesbitt ran over, grabbing his leader's arm as it rested on the table. There was no response. Now that he was closer, he could see Gansley wasn't actually sitting at the table—he was slumped over it.

"Gansley?!" Worried now, Nesbitt pushed him back in the chair. His eyes were closed, his face pained. Nesbitt shoved his hand up under the thick jowls, feeling for a pulse. There was nothing.

No, that couldn't be right. Maybe he just couldn't find it in Gansley's neck. He grabbed the limp hand, desperately searching for the little throb. Still nothing.

He slumped back, shaking. "Gansley," he choked out. ". . . Wake up!" He took hold of the broad shoulders, giving the older man a firm shake. But Gansley's head only lolled back. His neck was completely limp.

Finally there was no choice but to accept the truth. Nesbitt released him and took a step back. Somehow there was suddenly a scream coming from all around him, echoing off every wall and ringing in his ears. It was only when the doors burst open and Lector, Crump, and Johnson ran in that Nesbitt realized the scream had actually come from him.

"Nesbitt, what on Earth?!" Lector demanded. But then he saw the body. "Gansley?!"

"He's dead," Nesbitt said hopelessly. "I . . . I don't know how, or why, but he . . . he's gone. There's no pulse. He isn't breathing." He dug his hands into his hair as he resumed backing up. "I just found him like that! . . ."

Crump caught him from behind, laying his shaking hands on Nesbitt's shoulders. "What the heck is this?!" he burst out.

Lector's hands were also shaking as he conducted his own examination of their leader. "Oh Gansley . . . what happened to you?" he whispered.

Johnson was just staring, frozen. He had known Gansley the longest, and from his expression, he couldn't come to terms with losing the man now. Finally he sank to one knee, too devastated and bewildered to stand.

"This can't be Noa's world," he choked out. "We can't die in virtual reality! This is real! Gansley is . . ." He cried out in anguish.

Nesbitt still couldn't pull himself together. "H-He was just sitting there, so still. . . . I didn't know anything was wrong at first. I . . . I . . ." He shook his head, his hands trembling as he ran them down his face.

He had just thought they were all back together. Now, for some reason, they were being pulled apart.

"Well, Lector?!" Crump exclaimed. "Have you figured anything out?!"

Lector rocked back, his normally tan skin very pale. "I know very little about medical matters," he stammered. "I doubt any of us know much. But given Gansley's past problems, I wonder if he somehow died of a heart attack. There's no sign of physical trauma. . . ."

"Would he just have a heart attack for no reason?!" Nesbitt burst out.

"I don't know!" Lector cried. "Maybe! A lot of times they seem to just come on for no reason!"

". . . Or maybe someone induced it," Johnson said darkly as he got to his feet.

"Whaaat?! You mean like murder?!" Crump stared at him.

"Why not? We certainly have plenty of enemies, any of whom might be capable of such a cruel thing," Johnson said. "Maybe even Noa." He clenched a fist. "He threatened to do it, more than once. Right before we ended up here, he said that was what he was going to do."

"Oh no." Lector backed up. "The boy changed so much, but . . . to do this . . . !"

"He treated you the worst of any of us, Lector," Johnson pointed out. "How can you defend him?"

"Well, forgive me if I don't want to believe a child would murder somebody!" Lector burst out.

Johnson looked down. "He's not a child anymore, even if he looks it. He's completely twisted and warped." He finally got to his feet and went over to Gansley's lifeless body.

"Hey, you're the one who said we couldn't die in Noa's world," Crump pointed out. "So how could Noa do this if we're in the real world?!"

"I don't know!" Johnson cried in sudden grief. "I don't . . ." He pulled Gansley to him and just stood there, trembling as he held onto his lost comrade. "Gansley. . . ." Several tears slipped free, trailing down his face. One splashed on the top of Gansley's head.

Crump heaved a ragged breath, his own eyes haunted. "What're we gonna do?" he whispered. "Really, what?!"

Lector passed a hand over his face. "I'll have to take over as the leader," he realized. "I was always Gansley's second-in-command. . . . But I never wanted it to be like this!" He looked to Gansley with heartbroken eyes. "I don't know what to do. . . ." He drew a shaking breath. "Let's not split up again. We'll stay here and try to figure out what to do. Nesbitt . . ." He looked to the shaken brunet. "Is there any way you can figure out where we are or how to get out?"

". . . If I could find the security room," Nesbitt said slowly.

"Then we'll have to find it," Lector said. "And . . ." He shook his head. "We'll have to leave Gansley behind. . . ."

"Objection!" Johnson spat. "You just said we wouldn't split up again!"

"Everyone still alive shouldn't!" Lector shot back, clenching a fist. "I don't want to leave him, but we have to find that security room and see if there's any hope of getting out of here! If we try to carry him, I don't know if we'll be able to do that! You know Gansley always tried to be logical and get all of us to be logical too. What do you think he would want us to do?"

". . . He'd want us to go," Nesbitt said. "We'll have to. . . ."

"If we can find the way out, we'll come back for him," Lector promised. "We won't leave him behind."

Johnson still wasn't happy. ". . . At least help me get him to that couch," he said.

The others quickly agreed and gathered around, struggling to lift the heavy man and take him across the room to the couch. It was only a short journey, but just that much activity had them all winded.

". . . You see why we have to leave him," Lector said quietly.

"Yes, I see." But Johnson looked away.

Nesbitt frowned. He had always thought Johnson was smooth and uncaring, yet he had completely crumbled. And Nesbitt himself . . . how shaken he had been, and even screaming like that . . . how was it logical at all? And even knowing they had to leave Gansley, the very thought made his stomach twist. As they all started to quietly walk away, the pain only grew. He felt like he was leaving a part of himself behind. It felt like . . . like when Seto had forced him to blow up his laboratory as a sign of loyalty . . . only much worse.

He turned back when he heard a quiet voice. Lector had gone back to Gansley's side and was whispering to him.

"I am so sorry. This never should have happened. I . . . I will do my best to look after everyone else in your absence, but it will never be the same. I . . . I miss you already. I always followed you faithfully, my leader. I am not worthy to take over your position, but I know you thought I could do it. I won't let you down." He squeezed Gansley's hand before straightening and going over to Nesbitt and the others.

"You . . . you fell apart the night Noa was hit," Nesbitt remembered. "You didn't even like Noa. But you liked Gansley. How are you staying so calm now?"

Lector shook his head. "Because I have to," he said. "I have to fill his shoes. That means I . . . I have to be strong for everyone else, even if I feel like my soul has just been torn in two."

Nesbitt frowned. ". . . Then . . . when are you not strong? When can you unload your pain?"

"I don't know," Lector said. "Right now, it feels like there will never be such a time. I don't think Gansley ever allowed himself to break. I can't either."

Nesbitt stared after Lector as they walked. He had once thought the man immovable and unfeeling. He knew people still thought that about he himself. But Lector clearly felt very deeply. And Nesbitt . . . even though he had tried so hard to lock his emotions away, they seemed to be spilling out all over the place now.

He turned and looked back one last time at poor Gansley before they stepped into the hall.

Finding the security room was not an easy task. Nesbitt tried leading everyone to where the room was in the real Kaiba Manor, but instead there was nothing but a blank wall. He snarled, slamming his hand against it.

"We're being toyed with!" he boomed. "It's some sick, sadistic game to Noa or someone else!"

"So we've gotta keep looking!" Crump said. "The security room must be in some other place now!" He grabbed Nesbitt's shoulder. "Come on!"

Nesbitt shrugged him off, but then turned and stormed off down the corridor. The others all trailed after him. But no matter how far they walked or how much they searched, none of the rooms opened up to where they needed to be.

"Okay, I've gotta admit I'm at my wit's end here," Crump said. "How do you find a place that just won't be found?"

"We'll have to try other floors now," Lector said.

They started for the stairs, with Nesbitt in the lead. But it was while they were walking up that the lights suddenly and abruptly went out. A horrible choked cry and the sound of a body falling down the stairs immediately followed.

Nesbitt whirled. "What . . . who was that?!"

"Crump!" Lector screamed, his composure lost. He ran back down the steps, feeling around in the dark for the accountant. At the same moment he finally felt the beefy hand, the lights came back on. Crump was laying on the floor, gasping. An ancient spear had plunged all the way through his body.

Johnson looked like he was going to throw up. His eyes wide with horror, he tore down the steps as well. Nesbitt, badly shaken and in disbelief, slowly followed.

"Crump, what happened?!" Lector cried. Under ordinary circumstances he wouldn't dare try to remove the weapon, as much as he might want to. But they were trapped, with no one to turn to for medical help. In desperation he grasped the spear and tried to pull, but Crump's face contorted in pain and he had to let it go. It was useless; he couldn't remove it and Crump was clearly done for.

"I . . . I don't know," Crump gurgled. "I felt the thing slam into me and then I just lost my balance. . . ."

"A booby trap?!" Johnson suggested.

"Maybe," Crump said. "Or . . . maybe somebody threw it at me. . . ."

"They're systematically killing us off!" Nesbitt realized. "Gansley's heart attack probably wasn't an accident! Now this!" He stared, shaking, as Crump struggled to keep breathing. Gansley had already been dead when Nesbitt had found him and that was horrible enough. But now . . . now he had to watch another comrade dying right in front of him.

Lector looked at a complete loss. He wanted more than anything to pull out the spear and somehow get Crump the proper medical help to survive, but neither was possible. All he could do was helplessly look on and finally just grip Crump's clammy, trembling hand.

". . . Don't . . . don't try to hold on," Lector finally told him, his voice quavering. "You're in so much pain. . . . Please . . . let go, for your sake. . . ."

Crump gave a weak laugh mixed with pain. "I wanna live, you know. . . ."

"And we want you to, so badly," Lector said. "But there's nothing we can do. There's nothing . . . I can do. . . ." He shut his eyes tightly and held Crump's hand in both of his.

Nesbitt stood staring at the scene. This was some kind of a nightmare. He couldn't watch Crump die. He couldn't! This was slow, agonizing torture for all of them. He should be able to be logical, but . . . Crump had been his first adult friend, the first person who had ever reached out and kept reaching out other than a mysterious boy he had met on vacation in New Orleans. Crump had been so strange, with his loves of penguins and pretty girls, but he had been accepting of Nesbitt's asexuality. That had meant the world to Nesbitt after even his family couldn't deal with it.

"Hey," Crump was saying now, "it's okay, Lector. Nobody blames you. . . ."

"Look at you!" Johnson choked out. "You're dying and you're trying to comfort us!"

"Yeah," Crump chuckled. "That's rich, ain't it?" The laugh trailed off into a cough. He turned away, blood coming to his lips.

Nesbitt turned, running from the scene. He heard Lector calling to him, but he ignored it. He just kept running until he couldn't hear them anymore. Then he sank to his knees in anguish.

He didn't know how long he had knelt there before he heard footsteps approaching him. "He's dead." Lector's tone was cool, aching.

Nesbitt just kept kneeling there. "I . . ." He shook his head. "I couldn't watch. Death shouldn't be some kind of a spectacle!"

"A spectacle?!" Lector burst out. "You think Crump would have wanted to die all alone?!"

"You were there," Nesbitt countered. "And Johnson. . . ."

Lector clenched his fists. ". . . Crump was hurt when you ran off," he said. "I could tell. But . . . he said he understood. Well, maybe you can make me understand, Nesbitt, because I just don't!" He was practically screaming now. "Why?! Why would you leave us there like that?! Why wouldn't you stand by us when we needed you?!"

Nesbitt struggled to his feet. "You didn't need me!" he boomed. "I wasn't doing anything of value! I had no logical purpose in being there!"

"Is that what life is always all about to you, Nesbitt?!" Lector snapped. "Logic?! You think it was logical what happened here?! You think it made sense to run off and leave a man who thought of you as his friend to die without you?!"

"Why not?" Johnson spoke up coolly as he approached. "He was going to leave all of us and get out of Noa's world the instant he thought he could."

Nesbitt roared. For a moment actual fear went through Johnson's eyes and he backed up, nervously adjusting his tie. But instead of making any move towards Johnson, Nesbitt hauled off and slammed his fist into the wall. He stood there, trembling, just letting his fist sink deeper into the plaster as white particles fell down at his feet.

". . . I don't know why I tried to leave you," he said. "And I don't know why I ran now. I couldn't watch Crump die. I couldn't. . . ." He choked on what sounded like a sob. But it couldn't be, because he didn't sob. He didn't cry. He was logical. . . .

Lector's anger started to dissipate. "Oh Nesbitt. . . ." He went over and stood behind the tortured man, laying his hands on Nesbitt's shoulders. "Please forgive me. I should have known. . . ."

"Well, I don't know!" Nesbitt shot back. "Explain it to me, because I don't understand at all! I'm not behaving like I'm supposed to. I'm not behaving with any semblance of logic or sense whatsoever!"

Lector didn't answer. But he held Nesbitt close for a long time, until the younger man's heaving shoulders quieted and the silent tears he couldn't shed had passed. "You're behaving like a human," Lector finally said softly. "You felt helpless and lost, like I did. That's why you ran. . . ."

"I don't want to be human," Nesbitt immediately countered. "It hurts too much. I don't want it. . . ."

Lector shut his eyes tightly. "Right now, I can understand you as I never thought I would be able to. In this moment, I don't want it either."

Johnson finally came over to them. ". . . What are we going to do?" he asked very quietly. "Someone's out to get us, just as Nesbitt said. None of us are safe. . . ."

"I don't know what we're going to do," Lector said helplessly. "We're definitely sitting ducks here, but there's nothing we can do about it. Whoever is behind this has seen to that."

Nesbitt looked up at last. "So we just have to accept that we're going to be picked off one by one?!"

"No," Lector said. "We won't go down without a fight. And if we can, we'll avenge Gansley's and Crump's deaths. They won't get away with this."

Johnson drew a shaking breath. "Crump's last words. . . . H-He said that he hoped we would still call ourselves the Big Five, and not the Big Three. He said we could consider that he and Gansley are silent partners now . . . and their hearts are still with us. . . ."

"And I believe that," Lector said. "Of course, we will never change the name of our partnership."

Nesbitt clenched a fist. "Then let's track down the one who did this," he snarled. "In the name of the Big Five."

Lector and Johnson fully agreed.

Being prepared for a surprise attack was no easy task. Nesbitt tried to school the others in some basic lessons of stealth and not allowing anyone to sneak up behind, but he knew it likely wouldn't help much in a few minutes. It had taken months of kendo classes for him to become as skilled at being near-silent as he was. But he did what he could, and he and the others armed themselves with display weapons from the walls. Gozaburo's KaibaCorp had been built on weaponry, and he had showcased many guns in his home—all of which Seto had removed upon his takeover.

"You know," Lector remarked, "I never did understand Seto's hatred of war. Not when taking into consideration how he treated everyone closest to him."

"He was a hypocrite," Johnson agreed. "But most people are, to one extent or another." His eyes flickered. "I'm sure all of us are as well."

Lector nodded. "When we get out of this mess, we need to see what's happened to those kids," he said. "I can't leave Mokuba trapped, and . . . I don't want anyone else stuck either."

"But if we couldn't get out, how do you think we could do anything about them?" Nesbitt retorted.

"I don't know, but I'm going to try anyway," Lector said. "If we're no longer trapped in virtual reality, we might be able to find a way to help them from the outside."

The floor creaked somewhere up ahead in the hall. All three of them went stiff.

"That has to be them," Johnson knew. "We're all here. And Gansley and Crump are . . ." He shook his head and looked away.

"Let's go." Nesbitt stepped out ahead, tightly gripping a kendo bokken in his hand. Gozaburo had a room devoted to weapons from around the world, and Nesbitt had been pleased to find the one he was most adept at using.

Lector and Johnson followed close behind him. They had already decided that Nesbitt would lead them, since he was the fighter amongst them, but when a shadow darted past up ahead, Johnson suddenly lost control.

"Come back here!" he burst out, tearing around the corner.

"Johnson!" Lector exclaimed. "Get back here!" He ran out ahead too.

Before Nesbitt could catch up, the horrible sound of a gun going off met his ears. Once . . . twice. . . . His blood ran chill. "NO!"

He flew down the hallway, his heart pounding in his ears. Maybe Johnson had just shot at whoever was after them. Maybe Lector had too. Maybe they were fine. . . .

But those hopes were in vain. He stumbled to a halt as he nearly tripped over Johnson, lying prone on the floor. Blood was emerging from a bullet hole in his back.

"I didn't make it in time," Lector whispered. "He's dead. . . ."

Shaken, Nesbitt looked from the form on the floor to Lector beside him. "I thought you'd probably both got it. . . ."

"No, I'm alright," Lector said. "But Johnson . . ." He shook his head. "That fool. . . ."

Nesbitt gripped the bokken a little tighter. "Why did he do something so illogical?!"

"He was in pain and grief. It overwhelmed him and his logic when he thought he saw the murderer of our partners." Lector clutched the gun in his hand. "And now the shadow got away."

Nesbitt kept staring at Johnson. He had been alive just a minute ago, and now . . . now. . . . "We're the only ones left . . ." he said in horror.

"Yes, and soon you won't be here either," Lector drawled.

Nesbitt went stiff. "What are you talking about?!" He whipped around, only to see a gun in his face. Lector held onto it with a cruel sneer. His previous sorrow had completely fled.

"You never figured it out? I'm the one who's been systematically killing everybody off, as you put it." The gun clicked. "I caused Gansley to have a heart attack. I booby-trapped the stairs while we were separated, causing the spear to hit Crump when he stepped just so on the trigger. And I shot Johnson in the back just now."

Nesbitt just stood stock-still, unable to think, to move, to deal with this situation at all. Lector was the most honest among them. He hadn't used anyone to reach his high position in the company. He cared deeply about the others. All that Nesbitt had seen from him during this Hellish experience. . . . He couldn't . . . he wouldn't . . .

"Why?" Nesbitt finally choked out.

"You can't guess? All of you incompetents led to our losing that duel against Yugi and Mr. Wheeler! If I had been the one facing them from the start, it wouldn't have happened! You especially disappointed me, Nesbitt. If it hadn't been for your reckless behavior, Mr. Wheeler would have been eliminated early into that duel!" Lector stepped closer. "I despise every last one of you, but my feelings are particularly strong against you! Now I won't have any of you weighing me down ever again!"

Nesbitt's heart raced. This couldn't be real. . . . It couldn't. . . . Logic told him what he was seeing, but . . . logic also told him something else.

"You're not Lector." It was a simple pronouncement, a truth that simply had to be.

Lector rocked back, staring at him. "Excuse me?!"

"You're not Lector!" Nesbitt stepped forward, grabbing the gun in his enemy's moment of shock. "Lector is a good man, better than the rest of us. He wanted to get out of the virtual reality mess as much as the rest of us did, but he didn't try to betray everyone and get out on his own. He always insisted it had to be all of us!"

Lector was still staring. "You don't even like me."

"I hate you!" Nesbitt snarled. "Stop pretending to be Lector already! As for Lector, I . . ." He gripped the gun tighter and twisted it around so the barrel was pointed straight up in the air. He had thought he hated Lector at first, and he had been sure Lector had hated him. Later it had settled down to mere dislike. But . . . did he still dislike Lector?

No . . . it was himself he disliked . . . hated. He had been so arrogant, so self-serving. He had talked about being with the others in the real world and then he had betrayed them, trying to get out on his own. And he really had been reckless in their Merger duel. It was his fault they had lost. It was his fault. . . .

He trembled, but then steadied his hand. "What did you do with the real Lector?!"

His nemesis held still for a long moment, pondering his reply. Then, dropping his facade at last, he leaned in and whispered in Nesbitt's ear. "He's dead, just like the rest of these fools. I shot him right after I shot Johnson."

Nesbitt shut his eyes tightly. Dead. . . . All dead. . . . It felt like a bullet had already torn through his heart, even though the gun hadn't fired. "No. . . ." He sank to his knees, shaking. He was all alone then, just as he would have been had he really gone through with betraying the others and escaping in Tristan's body. Gansley, Crump, Johnson . . . Lector. . . . He wouldn't see any of them again.

He hunched over, clutching his chest. "What . . . what is this pain?" he rasped. "Why . . ." His voice choked in his throat. Tears were slipping from his eyes without him having instigated them.

"You're really that much of a fool?" the fake Lector scoffed. "You don't know? You love them. You're grieving over them." He brought his gun to Nesbitt's head again. "And now I'll send you to join them."

Nesbitt just stared blankly at the floor. Love. . . . That was what he was feeling? He had all but forgotten what it was to love people. He had loved his parents . . . and a boy he had met in New Orleans . . . but that was all. His love had been only for his machines for many years. But now . . . now. . . . The thought of them all being gone, of him trying to go on without them . . . it made him feel like throwing up. His machines . . . he had his machines, but . . . they couldn't really share in anything with him. They weren't alive. Lector's protectiveness . . . Johnson's wisecracks . . . Crump's love of penguins . . . Gansley looking after all of them, like a . . . father. . . . They had hated and feared virtual reality so much, but they had had each other. They had grown close during those weeks in a special way because they were literally all they had. Maybe it had started as a logical business decision, but . . . it was more than that now. To be sent on to join them sounded more like a mercy than a punishment.

"Do it then," he rasped. "Please. . . . I want to be with them again. I just want to be with them!" He sobbed, digging his hands into his hair.

The gun clicked again. Now it was pressed against his forehead, but he wouldn't resist. He would welcome death.

"No!"

Suddenly a man was flying out of a darkened room directly at the fake Lector. He tackled the wretch to the floor and delivered a harsh punch. The fake fell back, his appearance pixelating and then changing. Indeed, it wasn't Lector at all. It was a Doppelganger Duel Monster. And the one who had grabbed him was . . .

"Lector?!" Nesbitt stared at his rescuer. "But . . . you can't be here! You're . . ."

"I'm not dead!" Lector insisted. "Neither are the others!" He wrenched the gun away from the Doppelganger. "We're not even in the real world. We're still trapped."

"What?!" Nesbitt stared at him. "This is still virtual reality?!" He looked down at the floor. Johnson's body was no longer there.

"Noa must be punishing us, like we thought." Lector got to his feet. "The others are coming. I got shot down by this . . . whatever he is when I went to help Johnson. Then he teleported me out and I found the others all alright! We were stuck in a back room of this place and had to find the way out." He drew a shaking breath. "I was afraid we wouldn't find you in time. I'm still not sure how we got out."

Nesbitt looked up at him, confused. "But . . . if none of this is real, I wouldn't have actually died, would I?"

"I don't know," Lector said softly. "This faker . . . he broke your drive to go on." He reached out a hand to help Nesbitt up.

Nesbitt slowly took it. "You . . . heard everything?" He wasn't sure how he felt about it. It seemed mortifying now, how he had crumbled so easily when it wasn't even real. But Lector didn't look like he was about to make fun. And the others, running up now, just looked so relieved to see him safe. . . .

"We all heard," Gansley said quietly.

"I wondered how long it was gonna take you to realize how you felt," Crump said.

"This experience . . . as horrible as it was for all of us, it reminded us of something we started to forget while we've been trapped in this digital dungeon," Johnson said. "We're not part of this world. We're all human . . . with very human feelings."

"Nesbitt . . ." Lector gave him a genuine smile. "We all love you too, and each other. Nesbitt, my dear, dear friend . . . thank you for knowing that wasn't me."

"I just knew you would never . . ." Nesbitt's voice caught in his throat. "You would never hurt me, or any of the others. . . ."

Lector drew him into an embrace. "Never," he vowed.

Nesbitt froze, again stunned. But then he clutched at the older man in frantic desperation. It was the first time he ever remembered embracing anyone other than his parents . . . or the kid in New Orleans. . . . But . . . it felt so right.

Gansley, Crump, and Johnson joined the hug, laying their hands on Lector's and Nesbitt's shoulders. "I still don't know how we're going to get out of here, or if we even ever will," Gansley said.

Johnson heaved a shaking sigh. "Well, if we don't . . . at least we're together."

"Yeah," Crump said. "Not being in our bodies is awful, but it could be worse. . . ."

Nesbitt could only nod in complete agreement.

"You fools!" a familiar voice suddenly snarled over a hidden loudspeaker.

All of them jumped.

"Noa," Gansley growled.

"You really were the one doing all this to us!" Lector cried. "Why?! Just because we failed you?!"

"No," Noa spat in reply. "Because I wanted you to experience what it felt like to have everything taken from you! One by one I made you think you were dying and the others had to lose you. You've always been together and yet you dare to complain about your lot?! I despise every last one of you! You'll never understand what it is to be me. Well, if you want to be together so much, you can die for real when I blow this whole rotten place up in a few minutes!"

The Big Five looked to each other in shock and horror.

"You're doing what?!" Lector exclaimed. "Noa, you'll die too!"

"No, I won't," Noa sneered. "You see, I've finally found my way back into the real world. But none of you ever will! Goodbye forever!"

The communication cut off. The men looked to each other, badly shaken.

"What are we going to do?!" Johnson exclaimed. "We can't just wait around for death!"

"And we're not going to," Nesbitt vowed. "Every simulation has an exit. There has to be a way out of this mansion! We're going to find it and we're going to stop Noa's mad plan!"

"In just a few minutes?!" Crump scoffed.

"We have to try," Gansley said.

"So let's get to it," Lector said.

It seemed to take an eternity to search the rest of the mansion for the exit. But at last they found Noa's headquarters in the center of it and his monitors showing everything that was happening in other parts of the virtual world.

"There's Yugi and the others!" Lector exclaimed, pointing at one monitor. "All except Mokuba. Where is he?!"

". . . Noa must have possessed him to get out," Gansley suddenly realized. "That's the only thing that makes sense."

"Oh no." Lector clenched a fist.

"And Kaiba and everybody's gonna die in here with us!" Crump said. "What're we gonna do?!"

Johnson was staring at another monitor. "Gozaburo," he gasped.

All eyes immediately focused on where he was looking.

"That is Gozaburo," Lector exclaimed. "But . . . how? Why is he here?!"

"It looks like he's after Kaiba," Crump said. "And . . . what the heck is he doing?!"

They all watched in sickened horror as Gozaburo transformed to his flaming demon form and lunged at Seto. But in the next instant, an unimpressed Seto convinced him to finish out their duel. Gozaburo reverted to his normal state.

"What was that?!" Johnson exclaimed.

"It looked a lot like Possessed Dark Soul," Lector said, badly shaken.

Gansley shook his head. "It fits only too well."

Nesbitt sat down in Noa's chair and began to work the controls. "We'll worry about Gozaburo later. We have to get us and everyone out of here!" But no matter what he tried, the computer refused to respond.

"I thought you could hack into anything!" Crump yelped.

Nesbitt slammed his fist on the chair arm. "Well, I can't make a dent in this," he said.

They were all stunned when they heard Noa suddenly express his sorrow for what he had done and direct Yugi's group to the only exits, deep within the simulation of the Domino arcade. After his vehemence it seemed almost impossible and unreal, but he seemed to have actually experienced a change of heart because of Mokuba's sweetness. That didn't help any of the Big Five, however.

"We're nowhere near those places," Crump said. "We can't get out. . . . He said he can't stop the missile that's coming. . . . Some intruder broke the controls. . . ."

Lector drew a shaking breath. "Then . . . if we're all going to die for real, let's spend our last moments together." He laid one hand on Nesbitt's and the other grasped Gansley's.

"And then what?" Crump worried. "Are we all gonna go to Hell?"

Gansley sighed. "It's what at least some of us deserve, I suppose. Johnson and I have been ruthless most of our lives. The rest of you haven't been as bad as us, but we all fell far from the moment we tried to help Seto Kaiba take over KaibaCorp."

"This is ridiculous!" Nesbitt burst out. "I just thought we were all together when we ended up here. Then it looked like we were being killed off. Then we finally got reunited, only to learn this whole place is blowing up?!" He got out of the chair and gripped at Lector's and Crump's hands. "No! I'm not going to go through another separation! I'm not!"

Gansley held onto Lector and Johnson. "None of us want to. But I certainly don't want us to all end up in Hell. Perhaps . . . with any luck . . . we'll stay tied to the Earth as wandering spirits. Then at least we would all stay together, and not in such a treacherous place."

The group pulled in close as the floor began to rumble. This was it then. The virtual world was crumbling and they were going down with it.

"Crump . . ." Nesbitt looked to him. "I'm sorry I ran away, before . . ."

Crump just smiled at him. "Hey, it's okay, Buddy. I told them I understood, and I did. You just couldn't stand to see me so pathetic like that."

"I'm sorry for everything I said to you two, Nesbitt and Lector," Johnson said. "I've been angry and hurt, but . . . you've been hurting too, so much, and you're struggling with how to deal with it."

"We've all been hurting," Lector said. "I said things I shouldn't have as well."

"I'm struggling with how to deal with even having those feelings in the first place," Nesbitt said. "I deliberately tried to block them out because I was afraid of them. But now I . . . I can't hide from them any more."

"There's no shame in that," Gansley said.

"Of course not," Lector said.

The room continued to break up. They clutched each other closer, desperate to stay together at the end of what had become their world.

"I'm so sorry," they heard Noa say right before the computer went down. "I did this to you. I was so angry and lost and I'd forgot what it is to be human. I can make a shortcut for you so you can escape the virtual world, but if you can't get back to your bodies I don't know where you'll end up. . . ."

"Please try anyway, Noa," Lector pleaded.

"Yes! Get us out of here!" Gansley exclaimed.

"Alright." The floor suddenly began to glow. "Good luck, all of you."

They plummeted downward through the portal.

****

Nesbitt jumped a mile and nearly fell out of bed. Then, slowly, the room around him came into view and he groaned, leaning back into the pillows.

"Nesbitt?"

He looked up as the door creaked open. Lector was standing there, his brow furrowed in concern.

Nesbitt growled and looked away again. "All of your talk about what happened to us when Noa ‘deleted' us caused me to dream about it now," he said.

"You cried out in your sleep." Lector came over and sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm so sorry that my remembrance brought you such pain. . . ."

Nesbitt sighed. ". . . You were right that I tried to block it out. And also what happened when the explosion sent us back to the real world as wandering spirits, just as Gansley had hoped. We didn't end up in the same place."

"And we each thought the others were gone," Lector said quietly. "But then our reunion was wonderful."

Nesbitt stared off into the distance as he remembered. He had thought that if the others weren't gone, the Orichalcos had taken them. It had been a horrible weight on him. But then he had seen someone coming. . . .

_"Lector?!" He stared, disbelieving, and then broke into a run._

_Lector, too, was running to meet him. "Nesbitt!"_

_They reached each other and stood, staring, amazed and joyous to be together again._

_"I thought you were dead," Nesbitt rasped. "Or taken. . . ."_

_"I was so afraid you'd been," Lector returned._

_"And the others . . . do you think they're alright?!" Nesbitt looked around._

_"Hey!" Crump was waving wildly as he ran over._

_"We're all here," Johnson said fervently. He was coming, but walking slower to keep pace with Gansley, who was with him._

_"You aren't dead," Gansley said in awe. "All of us made it out. . . ."_

_Nesbitt looked around at all of them, the precious people he had once betrayed and who had still taken him back. The ones he knew he could never live without. They were still in a bad situation, stranded outside of their bodies and stuck as wandering spirits on another plane. But they were together, and somehow even that situation seemed workable now, as long as they stayed that way._

"Nesbitt?"

Nesbitt started back to the present. Lector was looking at him, still concerned.

"Yeah," Nesbitt said. "It was wonderful."

"We've changed so much since then," Lector remarked. "You have opened up so much more, and I . . . I'm no longer very good at holding it together when horrible things happen."

"And I've yelled at you sometimes." Nesbitt looked away. He didn't like to remember that.

"In some ways, our roles reversed," Lector said.

"But one thing that's never changed is our caring for each other," Gansley said as he appeared in the doorway.

"If anything, it's only grown stronger," Johnson added.

"And that's great!" Crump exclaimed.

Nesbitt shook his head. ". . . I really screamed that loud, eh?"

"Oh yeah," Crump said. "You blew us all out of bed."

"But that's alright," Johnson said.

"Are you alright, Nesbitt?" Gansley asked.

"Yes," Nesbitt said with a slow nod. He really was, he realized. He had come to accept his humanity and to even be grateful for it. Now he had also come to accept all of these men who were his dear friends. They had been given a second chance, finally able to return to their comatose bodies, and they had been making good on it as best as they could. They had even become protectors of the world, usually reluctantly, but they still did it. And they were also very close with Yugi and the others. They were all a family now.

"I'm glad," Lector said. "Do you want to try to go back to sleep, or would you rather stay up a bit?"

"I don't think I'll sleep again right away," Nesbitt said gruffly. That was true, but he also wanted to be with them, especially after emerging from that dream-memory.

"Then I'll make some hot chocolate!" Crump chirped. "We can all have some."

"That sounds delicious," Lector said.

The others all agreed.

Nesbitt threw back the covers and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He did like the sound of it. But what he liked best was the thought of just spending the time with the others.

". . . Hey, I remembered something I hadn't before," he said. "Maybe it was lost in all the stress of what was happening and me trying to block out the memories of all of it, but now I was thinking that Noa actually did get us out of virtual reality right before it all blew up."

". . . I remember that too," Lector said in some surprise. "He didn't leave us to die in there."

Gansley nodded. "If he truly wanted to turn over a new leaf, he couldn't in good conscience have left us to suffer through the explosion, especially after what he already put us through."

Nesbitt sighed. "I'm glad I remember it now." He frowned a bit. "It always bothered me that he left us there like that."

"Heck, I'm sure it bothered all of us," Crump said.

The group headed out of the room and to the stairs to get down to the kitchen. As Crump set about making the hot chocolate, Nesbitt just sat at the table and watched him. It was something most people took for granted, but all of them knew what it was to exist and yet not be able to function normally. Just to be able to drink something was amazing, after experiencing what it was like to not be able to.

It didn't take long to make the delicious beverage, and soon they were all gathered around the table with their mugs, sharing the late-night treat and their gratitude and relief to all be alive—and together.


End file.
